Mandibular nerve

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Template:Infobox Nerve Image:Gray782.png The mandibular nerve is the third branch (V₃) of the trigeminal nerve. It exits the cranial fossa (at the base of the skull) through the foramen ovale.

It conveys sensation from the lower teeth, mandible as well as the lower lip, cheek and chin. It also supplies part of the tongue as well as the inside of the cheek (the buccal mucosa).

It runs into the mandible via the mandibular foramen where it becomes the inferior alveolar nerve. The inferior alveolar nerve carries sensation from the teeth of the lower jaw and their surrounding soft tissue.

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Details from Gray's anatomy

The mandibular nerve (inferior maxillary nerve) supplies the teeth and gums of the mandible, the skin of the temporal region, the auricula, the lower lip, the lower part of the face, and the muscles of mastication; it also supplies the mucous membrane of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue.

It is the largest of the three divisions of the fifth, and is made up of two roots: a large, sensory root proceeding from the inferior angle of the semilunar ganglion, and a small motor root (the motor part of the trigeminal), which passes beneath the ganglion, and unites with the sensory root, just after its exit through the foramen ovale.

Immediately beneath the base of the skull, the nerve gives off from its medial side a recurrent branch (nervus spinosus) and the nerve to the Pterygoideus internus, and then divides into two trunks, an anterior and a posterior.

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